Chamber and committees

Current housing standards do not cover agricultural seasonal workers’ accommodation such as mobile homes or other temporary structures, as mobile homes are not considered as houses for the purpose of legislation. This has resulted in inconsistent and unequal protection for seasonal workers and is something we want to address.

The Scottish Government expect local authorities to use the powers granted them to introduce byelaws, taking into account the specific circumstances relating to seasonal workers in their geographical area.

Local authorities will have their own individual timelines for delivery. Officials have had discussions with COSLA and are continuing to engage with them regarding local authorities’ responsibilities and to facilitate the timely implementation of byelaws that maintain standards of accommodation for seasonal workers.

Ministers and officials engage regularly with local authorities on a wide variety of issues, including pupil wellbeing and support for Additional Support Needs. However, you will be aware responsibility for the delivery of education and support for children and young people, including responding to incidents of bullying, rests with local authorities and schools.

In 2024, we updated our national anti-bullying guidance Respect for All. We expect all local authorities, schools and organisations to develop and implement anti-bullying policies in line with Respect for All.

In 2026-27, we are providing £310,480 to respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service to provide advice, resources, and training for schools, local authorities and parents to help prevent and address bullying.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01336 on 17 of July 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on pupil’s eligibility for free school meals (FSM). However, data on pupils eligible for, and in receipt of, free school meals are held.

The following table sets out the percentage of secondary school pupils each year where data was available who were persistently absent, by their free school meal registration status.

Table 1. Percentage of secondary school pupils persistently absent by free school meal registration, 2018-19, 2020-21, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25.

The Scottish Government is taking forward a range of actions to develop and improve agricultural education, learning and skills during this Parliamentary session.

This includes implementing the recommendations of the independent Commission for the Land-Based Learning Review, all 22 of which were accepted or accepted in principle by the Scottish Government. In March 2026, the Scottish Government reported that actions relating to 14 recommendations had been completed, with work continuing on the remainder.

The Scottish Government is also supporting agricultural learning and skills development through Scotland’s Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS), including investment in the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund, the Next Generation Practical Training Fund and the Land-Based Pre-Apprenticeship Programme. Together, these initiatives support vocational training, practical skills development and pathways into agricultural careers, helping to develop the skilled workforce needed by Scotland’s rural economy.

The Scottish Government also funds Lantra Scotland to promote careers, learning and skills development across the land-based sector.

Responsibility for regulation and enforcement of health and safety requirements rests with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) while the Scottish Funding Council retain oversight of the college sector on key issues of accountability and compliance. The Scottish Government engages regularly with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) on their oversight. The SFC expects colleges to comply with their legal obligations and seeks assurance on this through its ongoing monitoring, and engagement with institutions.

As a result of the measures established by the SFC, the Scottish Government remains assured that appropriate governance and compliance arrangements are in place across the sector.

It is the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s responsibility as the independent professional registration and regulatory body for teachers in Scotland, to ensure teaching standards are upheld. GTCS, local authorities and professional associations, operate with appropriate independence, which the Scottish Government respects. This autonomy is an important feature of a balanced and credible system. It sits alongside clear responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires public authorities to exercise their functions in a way that advances equality, eliminates discrimination and fosters good relations between communities.

Each school works with partners, including the school-based Skills Development Scotland (SDS) career adviser(s), to identify the pupils who are most at risk of not transitioning to a positive destination post-school such as further / higher education, training or employment. Factors that are taken into consideration include, but are not limited to, whether the young person is care-experienced; has caring responsibilities; has any health issues or disabilities; has additional support needs; or has interrupted learning. The school and partners then discuss and agree the appropriate support for each individual.

SDS are responsible for managing the 16+ Participation Portal, a secure online portal which tracks the status of young people aged 16-24. By sharing information between partners, including local authorities, colleges, the Scottish Funding Council, the Student Awards Agency for Scotland and the Department for Work and Pensions, SDS can identify those young people not in a positive destination and will proactively make contact with them to offer support.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01691 on 10 August 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) collects and publishes Modern Apprenticeship (MA) data with the latest full year data covering 2025-26.

https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/josfrdus/modern-apprenticeship-supplementary-tables-quarter-4-2025-26.xlsx

Information on MA achievements and number of leavers is published by age band and year, but the age bands used by SDS are 16-19 and 20-24 and 25+.